Thus we reach the point where Dragon Ball becomes less easy to categorise into arcs. I think that the DVDs are more arbitrarily divided at this point, considering that this particular quest for the Dragon Balls doesn’t end until episode 75.
I’m still having a good time, but the times aren’t as good as they once were.

The Red Ribbon Army and Emperor Pilaf are out for the Dragon Balls! Goku, too, is looking for his Grandfather’s four star Dragon Ball! So it’s a free for all hunt for Dragon Balls, with Emperor Pilaf quickly and inexplicably disappearing from the storyline, and Goku entering a generic tower of bosses confrontation!

There’s nothing wrong with this storyline, per se, it’s just that it doesn’t have any of the supporting cast that makes Dragon Ball so much fun. Watching Goku fight a perverted ninja has its laughs, but if Oolong and company were there for the ride it would kick into a higher gear.
Particularly unimpressive about this arc is that Goku didn’t really have a challenge on his hands: everything was resolved with a couple of simple punches and one (1) instance of thermal expansion.

With each sentence, I realise that I can’t write huge essays on Dragon Ball because I can’t convince myself that it’s substantial enough. At the end of this set Goku stuffed Bulma into his shirt and headed off for adventure, so I have to hope that that is what he finds!

1 Comment

One thing I noticed was how Bulma got almost monopoly screen time in ED. You’d think it was an anime about _her_. Gohan, move over.

RR Army had one general who was less incompetent than the rest, but unfortunately I had to stop watching before seeing how Goku dealt with him. Sternly, I presume.